Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has emphasised the importance of caring for the environment and taking the issue of climate change seriously.

'This is a crucial issue both today and for all future generations,” Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor told the Independent newspaper. “We are the stewards of creation and we need to take that responsibility seriously and co-operate to care for the created world.'

His comments were made following recent remarks by Pope Benedict XVI on the issue of climate change and the environment. The Holy Father is expected to use his first address to the United Nations in 2008 'to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a moral cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following', according to the Independent newspaper.